Jan. 9, 2008
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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Shawn James' inside play and Reggie Jackson's outside shooting helped Duquesne open a double-digit lead midway through the first half and the improved Dukes won their Atlantic 10 opener, beating Fordham 74-62 on Wednesday night.
The 6-foot-10 James had 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots while repeatedly altering Fordham shots or forcing the Rams to go outside for their offense. Jackson had three 3-pointers in a 15-point game, while Aaron Jackson scored 12 points and freshman Damian Saunders added 10.
James' three blocks gave him 60 for the season, tying Derrick Alston's school record set 15 years ago. He has half a season remaining.
Coach Ron Everhart's Dukes (11-3, 1-0) have 15 games remaining, but already have surpassed the 10 wins achieved by last season's team. Those Dukes overcame the preseason shootings of five players, including James and guards Kojo Mensah and Jackson, to go 10-19 -- a major upgrade from the 3-24 record of 2005-06.
Fordham (6-7, 0-1) dropped its third in four games despite Sebastian Greene's 20 points, Bryant Dunston's 19 and Brenton Butler's 17. Marcus Stout, who was 6-of-6 on 3-pointers while scoring 26 points in the Rams' 71-59 decision at Duquesne last season, was held to four points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Kieron Achara's basket midway through the first half put the Dukes up 18-7, and they repeatedly held leads in that range the rest of the game. Fordham cut it to 26-21, but Duquesne answered with a 9-1 run late in the half and added a 7-0 run early in the second half to go up by 16.
The Rams had won five straight against the Dukes, but never did slow a team that began the game averaging a conference-leading 88.4 points.
Everhart modified the two-unit platoon he used at the end of last season and most of this season, shortening his bench to go with more conventional substituting but still relying on full-court pressure that helped force the Rams' 17 turnovers and 41.4 percent shooting (24-of-58).
